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Plans for constructing a new 20,000-seater stadium in Berlin are proceeding despite multiple delays caused by, amongst other things, the recent discovery of large amounts of asbestos material during demolition work on the old sports complex. The fact that the construction company is currently storing the asbestos waste in the city center has led to public outrage. A complaint was filed with the public prosecutor’s office which argued that due to the ubiquitous historic use of asbestos in East Germany, the presence of asbestos on this site should have been anticipated. See: Germany: Berlin Senate gives green light for Jahn-Sportpark redevelopment!

The commentary cited below detailed the decades-long struggle by shipyard worker Pierre Pluta for the rights of the asbestos injured. Seventy-nine year old Pluta began his working life as a mechanic in 1963, aged 17, building the big ships in the Dunkirk shipyards. None of the workers had any idea that the asbestos raining down on them could cause cancer and other diseases. In 1996, Pluta founded the Regional Association for the Defence of Asbestos Victims (ARDEVA) to formalize the fight for justice for his former colleagues; to date, 846 ARDEVA members have died from asbestos-related diseases. See: Scandale de l’amiante: Pierre Pluta, la voix des disparus [Asbestos scandal: Pierre Pluta, the voice of the disappeared].

The Court of Appeal in Genoa rejected an appeal from the Ministry of Defense (MoD) on a decision by the Court of La Spezia which had awarded compensation of €200,000+ (US$227,000+) to the family of a worker who died in 2022 from mesothelioma. The deceased had worked for decades at the MoD’s La Spezia Naval Base. The retiree filed the lawsuit after receiving his cancer diagnosis but died before the case had been resolved. See: Amianto, ministero condannato in appello a risarcire oltre 200mila euro [Asbestos, ministry ordered on appeal to pay over 200 thousand euros compensation].

A public works project in the capital of Cyprus is replacing 98 kilometers of deteriorating asbestos-cement pipes with modern polyethylene pipes. The budget allocated for this program is €9.5m (US$10.8m). The toxic pipes will be replaced across the central areas of Limassol by December 2027. According to the news report, the construction work will generate approximately 44,000 cubic meters of excavated material which will be disposed of at licensed facilities. See: Limassol €9.5m water infrastructure project to replace 98km of aging pipes.

Three new lawsuits were filed in a Dallas Court last week by lawyers representing claimants who alleged that their cancers had been caused by the use of asbestos-contaminated talc-based baby powder sold by Johnson & Johnson. According to the article below, this development marked a revival in the “momentum in a historic mass tort after a federal judge blocks Johnson & Johnson’s third bankruptcy gambit.” Tens of thousands of similar cases are pending. See: Johnson & Johnson Hit with New Wave of Talc Lawsuits in Texas After Third Failed Bankruptcy Scheme Backfires in Explosive Mass Tort Comeback.

The toxic legacy of the Soviet occupation of the Czech Republic led the police to begin investigations in 2023 regarding illegal dumping of asbestos waste generated by the demolition of Soviet army buildings in Milovice, a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. According to Seznam Zprávy, a Czech online news website, five people and one construction company are being investigated over the fly-tipping of toxic debris in the forests. Charges of crimes related to environmental damage and illegal handling of hazardous waste are under consideration. See: Полиция предъявила обвинения в нарушении правил утилизации асбеста в Миловице [Police Charge over Violation of Asbestos Disposal Rules in Milovice].

On May 20, 2025 a new health resource center was opened on Main Street, Osborne Park, Perth to support a wide variety of medical needs of local people. The personalised general practice, which is located on the premises of the Asbestos Diseases Society of Australia (ASDA) Health Hub, carries on the ADSA’s long tradition of identifying and addressing unmet medical and support needs of injured workers and their families. Commenting on the clinic’s grand opening, ADSA’s CEO Melita Markey said: “Over the years, we’ve received many requests to share our expertise in workers’ and family health with the broader community. Thanks to the tireless efforts of our staff and supporters, this initiative is now a reality.” See: ADSA GP Family and Workers Clinic.

On May 22, 2025, the Environmental Protection Bureau of Miaoli County Council in central Taiwan announced that additional funding from the county government was being sought to increase the capacity of regulated asbestos disposal sites. The amount allocated for this purpose this year by the Ministry of Environment’s Environmental Recycling Agency enabled the disposal of 140 tons of asbestos waste; the county still has 400 tons to be treated. See: 苗栗石棉废弃物处理量能不足 环保局将争取县府经费支援 [Miaoli asbestos waste treatment capacity is insufficient, and the Environmental Protection Bureau will seek financial support from the county government].

On May 7, 2025, the Center for Asbestos Related Disease (CARD) in Libby, Montana – a life-saving medical facility in a town wracked by asbestos-related diseases – was shut as a result of a 2023 legal verdict won by an aggressive US asbestos defendant company: BNSF Railways owned by billionaire Warren Buffett. Federal attorneys have now joined forces with CARD officials and local politicians to fight against the closure of the clinic. Montana State legislator Mike Cuffe expressed serious regret about the shutdown and the consequences for the community. See: Feds join fight to reopen asbestos clinic in Libby.

Dunkirk MP Julien Gokel has announced plans to lobby the French National Assembly to reconstitute an asbestos consultation group which was unceremoniously disbanded last year, much to the consternation of victims’ groups and associations around the country. The objective of this Parliamentary group is to improve the care of victims, increase dialogue between government and asbestos stakeholders and monitor the development of relevant legislation. The first meeting of the group is scheduled for June 2025. See: Le député Dunkerquois Julien Gokel relance un groupe de débat Amiante [Dunkirk MP Julien Gokel relaunches asbestos debate group].

A project to protect citizens from deadly exposures to asbestos-cement roofing has been announced by officials from Ansan City in South Korea’s Gyeonggi Province. The target of the latest asbestos eradication initiative is building owners or tenants who own or live in asbestos-cement roofed buildings. Funding has been allocated to remove and dispose of this toxic roofing from ten houses and two non-residential buildings: warehouses and barns. See: 팔로워안산시 "낡은 석면 슬레이트 철거 지원해 드립니다" [Ansan City, “We will support the demolition of old asbestos slate”].

A recently published paper by Colombian and US researchers detailed a project which reviewed Colombian mesothelioma mortality data (1997-2022) from the National Administrative Department of Statistics. Of the 1,539 deaths identified, 65.1% were in men, and 62.6% in people over 62 years old. The vast majority of mesothelioma deaths (92%) occurred in urban areas such as Sibaté, Soacha and Bogotá. There was, the authors of the paper concluded, a high rate of unspecified diagnoses and a serious “need to strengthen diagnostic capacity, improve surveillance, and implement a national asbestos-related disease elimination strategy.” See: Epidemiological Trends in Mesothelioma Mortality in Colombia (1997–2022): A Retrospective National Study.

A huge rise in profits and very generous stockholder dividends were reported last week by the French conglomerate Altrad – the current owner of the former UK asbestos giant Cape Plc. Altrad has been widely criticized for failing to engage with asbestos victims and Parliamentarians backing a call for a one-off £10 million (US$13.3m) donation for medical research into diseases caused by exposures to asbestos. In March 2025, Altrad’s CEO Ran Oren declined to take part in “a parliamentary hearing on Cape’s asbestos-related legacy.” See: Profit rises at Altrad amid asbestos-claims warning.

Responding to the asbestos crisis, a Dutch municipality announced last week plans to pay for the removal of all small asbestos roofs on buildings within its jurisdiction. A remediation campaign launched by the national government in 2019 failed to meet targets. Four hundred thousand Dutch buildings still have asbestos-containing roofs and 1,100+ Dutch citizens die annually from diseases caused by asbestos exposures. The Almere city council approved a plan to fully cover the cost of removing asbestos roofs from 1,000 small structures; by the end of 2026, all asbestos roofs on small buildings in Almere will be gone. See: Almere to remove all small asbestos roofs for free as national effort falters.

On May 13, 2025, Mayor Chun Young-ki of South Korea’s Tongyeong City announced that on May 31 & June 1, 2025, the municipality will conduct a health audit of asbestos-exposed residents in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment. The check-ups offered under this program are free of charge for eligible applicants and will be conducted under the Asbestos Damage Relief Act. To qualify, people must have lived near shipyards or in houses with asbestos roofs or worked in asbestos-using industries. Family members of at-risk workers are also eligible for the screening. See: 통영시, 석면피해의심지역 주민 석면 건강영향조사 실시 [Tongyeong City conducts asbestos health impact survey for residents in suspected asbestos damage areas].

The wonderful article by Prathamesh Kabra cited below highlighted the amazing work of French toxicologist Henri Pezerat who was one of the pioneers in the fight for asbestos justice in France. Henri worked closely with workers, as well as scientists, to identify and publicise the deadly occupational and public health consequences of the operations of the French asbestos industry. According to Kabra: “His work broke through the noise of industry-backed studies. He showed the true risks, and that helped change laws to protect people’s health. His life story still reminds me that a single determined voice can spark real change.” See: This Scientist Spent His Life Proving Asbestos Could Kill You.

I always knew there was something Quixotic about the confrontation of British mining conglomerate Cape Asbestos by thousands of South Africans from poor mining communities in the late 1990s; just how epic the battle was has taken me 30 years to fully appreciate. The publication of a new book – In A Rain of Dust, Death, Deceit and the Lawyer who Busted Big Asbestos – was a revelation with its tale of corporate crime, apartheid capitalism, boardroom clashes, vulture funds and a huge cast of characters. Summing up the importance of this publication, one UK campaigner said: “This new book has a relevance not just to those of us fighting for the rights of the asbestos-injured but to everyone concerned about human rights, environmental justice and corporate responsibility.” [Read full article]

In a press release issued today, asbestos victims’ groups from around the world came together to welcome a new book: In a Rain of Dust – Death, Deceit and the Lawyer Who Busted Big Asbestos which was published in London on May 13, 2025. The text written by David Kinley joins the pantheon of other English-language classics which stripped away carefully crafted corporate façades to show the ugly reality which lies behind asbestos industry profits. The gripping story of how a London-based human rights solicitor with little prior knowledge about asbestos called to account one of the UK’s biggest asbestos conglomerates is not only a riveting read but also a timely reminder of the consequences of an industrial legacy that continues to cause death and destruction on a global scale. [Read full article]

Around the world, International Workers Memorial Day (IWMD) was celebrated on April 28, 2025 by trade unions, labor federations and groups representing victims of workplace illnesses and accidents. Although the theme of this year’s activities was the threat of artificial intelligence to workers, many of the events held highlighted the imminent hazard posed by asbestos to workers both in countries where its use remains legal and those where it is banned. With millions of tonnes of asbestos material still contaminating national infrastructures and over a million tonnes of asbestos fiber being used every year, neither workers nor the public are safe from deadly exposures. The IWMD slogan: “remember the dead, fight for the living” is as apt now as it’s ever been. [Read full article]

For decades, the existence of a regional asbestos epidemic has been a fact of life for people living in towns near a former asbestos mine in Bahia, a state in the northeast of Brazil. A pionnering pulmonary screening program has now confirmed what local people already knew: there is, indeed, a high incidence of occupationally and environmentally caused asbestos cancers, asbestosis, pleural plaques and other respiratory diseases in the Bahia towns of Bom Jesus da Serra, Poções, Caetanos and Planalto. Recommendations made by the specialists who implemented the surveillance program included: continuous monitoring of at-risk individuals, better recording of disease levels and data and the creation of a local center of excellence for the treatment of lung diseases. [Read full article]

People continue to die from asbestos-related cancers and diseases more than thirty years after asbestos was banned in Italy. For decades, victims’ associations, trade unions, community groups and public prosecutors have sought to hold negligent parties to account for the damage done. One defendant who has been indicted and convicted in multiple jurisdictions is Swiss billionaire Stephan Schmidheiny, former owner and a director of the Swiss Eternit company and the main shareholder of the defunct cement production company Eternit Italia. On April 17, the Turin Court of Appeal confirmed a lower court’s verdict which held him responsible for scores of asbestos deaths even though it reduced the length of the prison sentence. [Read full article]

It is remarkable to witness the heightened engagement of national authorities with asbestos legacies in key global hotspots. The imposition of new restrictions, progression of medical projects, upscaling of impact assessments and implementation of eradication programs are indicative of an ever-growing awareness of the urgent need for action to prevent future deaths. Work is also on-going in scores of other countries in screening at-risk populations, securing compensation for victims of asbestos-related diseases, documenting the crimes of asbestos defendants, highlighting long-standing injustices of compensation schemes, and exposing hazardous workplaces and practices. Scrupulous monitoring of developments is essential to preserve progress made in the battle for global asbestos justice. [Read full article]

A catalog of recent developments are suggestive of major problems at Russia’s second largest asbestos conglomerate: Uralasbest. On March 10, the company announced that the workforce would be put on a three-day week to save money on labor costs. Reacting to this news, panicked Uralasbest employees, already on minimum wage, told reporters that their income could decrease by a further 30%. Many were “seriously considering quitting.” Just a few days after the Uralasbest bombshell had exploded, the company announced that it was abandoning the three-day week in the face of employee “dissatisfaction.” The press service of Uralasbest declined to comment further. [Read full article]

After an eight-year wait, Brazilian and international asbestos watchers were optimistic that the Supreme Court’s (STF’s) definitive ruling on the illegality of asbestos exports would be handed down by March 14. As has happened so many times before, the delivery of an STF asbestos decision was upended. This time, the impasse was caused by Judge Kassio Nunes Marques, an appointee of the disgraced former President Jair Bolsonaro. Marques said he needed more time to consider the arguments of case ADI 6200. As he has been a STF Judge since November 5, 2020, one wonders why he had not found time to study the case files? There might be 103,000,000 reasons for this. [Read full article]

Two initiatives have come to the fore recently highlighting the human, environmental and ecological tragedy which has befallen Slovenia's picturesque Soča Valley. From 1921, this area was the heartland of the country's asbestos-cement industry with a sucession of companies routinely exposing thousands of workers and residents to carcinogenic asbestos fibers. A great debt is owed to author/researcher Jasmina Jerant and documentary photographer and filmmaker Manca Juvan who cast fresh eyes over an old scandal. Using their unique talents, they succeded in thrusting vital questions onto local, national and international agendas and once again forced us to question the compromises ordinary people are forced to make to provide for their families. [Read full article]

Brazilian asbestos, banned at home, continues to poison millions of people in India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe etc. whilst simultaneously enriching Brazilian stakeholders. In 2023, international sales of Brazilian asbestos were worth $103,000,000, making Brazil the world’s 2nd largest exporter. Deadlines published by the Supreme Court (STF) for ending the legal limbo in which exports of this prohibited substance continued were inexplicably postponed in August and October 2024. On the eve of STF proceedings which could end the constitutional impasse, global campaigners issued a press release urging the Court to end this “immoral and unjustifiable double standard.” [Read full article]

There is a special place in hell reserved for the panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit which on November 27, 1991 derailed an incipient US ban on asbestos. The knock-on effect of the verdict was that asbestos use remained legal for another 33 years, creating yet more asbestos victims. It was with a pronounced sense of déjà vu that on Friday, February 21, 2025 I learned that the same court had acceded to demands from the Trump administration to pause implementation of a 2024 national asbestos ban. Under the administration of Republican President George W. Bush the asbestos cancer risk to Americans was ignored in 1991; knowing what we do about Donald Trump, is it likely that the outcome will be different this time around? [Read full article]

A statement issued on February 13th conveyed news of yet another win by Indonesian campaigners against asbestos vested interests. After six months of hearings, motions and deliberations, Chief Judge of the Central Jakarta District Court Marper Pandiangan threw out legal arguments by the asbestos manufacturers association (FICMA) which had sought huge damages from civil society groups following a March 2024 Supreme Court ruling mandating warning labels for asbestos roofing products. FICMA has until the middle of March to file an appeal. [Read full article]

News that the Republic of Moldova banned asbestos late last year must have sent a seismic shock to asbestos producers in Russia and Kazakhstan. Although Moldova had in recent years consumed little or no asbestos – in 2022 Moldova imported a mere $16,400 worth of asbestos, 80% of which came from Russia – the elimination of yet another national market will almost certainly intensify the high level of anxiety being experienced by asbestos stakeholders. Throughout the region, asbestos markets are looking increasingly unstable with mounting challenges of pro-asbestos rhetoric and growing awareness among national governments of the high costs being incurred by society for industry profits. [Read full article]

In the run-up to the glitzy 2025 awards season which sees recognition for stars of stage and screen, the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS) is acknowledging impactful work of a different kind. Winners of the Screen Actors Guild, the Academy Awards, the Golden Globe and Critics Choice receive imposing and tasteful statuettes to mark their successes. Not so the “winners” of the IBAS Devil’s Dust Awards 2025 whose ruthless promotion of an acknowledged carcinogen and/or suppression of victims’ rights have earned them a rather revolting accolade: a virtual avatar appropriately nicknamed the Lucifer. With so many potential candidates, it was hard to chose this year’s “winners.” The entities named in this years Dishonors List come from Brazil, France & Indonesia. Want to know more? Read on. [Read full article]

As recently as 2020, Russia was the world’s leading supplier of asbestos, accounting for 65% of global output. A mere three years later this figure had fallen to 48% with Russian producers facing falling demand and increasing competition. In the December 2024 newsletter produced by Uralasbest, Russia’s second biggest asbestos conglomerate, its General Director explained that among the challenges the company faced in 2024 were bureaucratic hurdles and logistical obstructions – i.e. persistent and continuing disruptions to asbestos cargo rail shipments. What he failed to mention, however, was the progress being achieved by global campaigners which has “significantly reduced the possibility of exporting chrysotile asbestos… [and created] the crisis faced by asbestos-producing businesses.” [Read full article]

Against the backdrop of a continuing decrease in global asbestos consumption, work to quantify and address toxic industrial legacies was continued this year by grassroots campaigners, civil society stakeholders, national, regional and international authorities. Amongst high-profile topics debated in multiple jurisdictions were the asbestos contamination of schools, water delivery systems and the built environment; the risks posed by asbestos in personal hygiene products and cosmetics; and the unregulated and unsafe dumping of asbestos waste. Technological developments and the building of infrastructure by asbestos stakeholders made manifest their intention to continue profiting from asbestos sales despite the health hazards. It is clear that despite our many successes, much work remains to be done. [Read full article]

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Demonstration in Woluwe Park, Brussels, 2006

Under cloudy skies, members of Belgian and French Asbestos Victims' Associations from Dunkirk and Bourgogne marched side-by-side in the third annual demonstration organized by ABEVA, the Belgian Association of Asbestos Victims. Erik Jonckheere, ABEVA's Co-chairman, condemned the government which still refuses to recognize the plight of the asbestos injured.

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